Flat finger loop

ABSTRACT

A flat finger loop is a flat and flexible membrane that has a first opening and a second opening having a shape and orientation with respect to each other such that the region between them can alternately form a loop with a tight and secure grip on a finger when a finger is inserted through one opening and out of the other, and can collapse completely flat and flush with the rest to the membrane when the loop is not is use. The flat finger loop can also be attached to portable objects, such as a smartphone, whereby the object becomes stuck to and thus effortlessly held by a single finger.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/516,514, filed Jun. 7, 2017, the content of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I. Field of the Invention

This application relates to holding mechanisms for an object such as ahandheld portable input device such as a smartphone, tablet, mp3 player,camera, or other portable object, which attach the object to a user'sfinger so as to reduce physical strain on the user and also to improveease of use or operation of the device.

II. Discussion of the Related Art

Holding a smartphone by grasping it with one's hand is awkward as itlimits the holding hand's fingers' freedom of motion to interact withthe screen or ability to hold something else, bears the inherent riskthat the grip could be lost and the smartphone could be dropped, can beun-ergonomic for holding the smartphone in ideal orientations forextended periods, and is an inefficient burden on the hand, fingers, andthe holder's attention. Smartphones are meticulously designed to have assleek and thin a profile as possible, so that a smartphone may easilyslip in and unnoticeably reside in a user's pocket, lay squarely on atable, and occupy the least possible space, so it is important that anysolution to this problem add the least possible material, weight,profile, or dimension to the smartphone or smartphone case. The same canbe said for a wide range of other portable objects as well, where asleeker, more efficient, and more economical means of holding would bebeneficial.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention solves this problem by providing a flat finger loop thatattaches to an object like a smartphone in a flat conformation that addsthe minimal possible thickness, profile, and weight to the smartphone,and that can be temporarily contorted into a loop conformation thatgrips the holder's finger (or a plurality of fingers) tightly andsecurely, enabling the smartphone to be held by that finger in numerousergonomic orientations. This solution is ideal for a smartphone, but canbe similarly applied to any portable handheld object, so hereunder‘smartphone’ is used replaceably for a tablet, mp3 player, camera, anyother handheld portable input device, or any other portable object.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a top perspective view of a preferred embodiment of theinvention, with the loop in flat conformation, having no smartphoneattached.

FIG. 1B shows a top perspective view of the other side of the embodimentof FIG. 1A, with the loop in flat conformation, having no smartphoneattached.

FIG. 1C shows a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1A, with the loop inflat conformation, having a smartphone attached within the smartphonecase.

FIG. 1D shows a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1A, having asmartphone attached within the smartphone case, with the loop in a loopconformation, with a finger inserted through the loop.

FIG. 1E shows a side perspective view the embodiment of FIG. 1, having asmartphone attached within the smartphone case, with the loop in a loopconformation, and with a finger inserted through the loop.

FIG. 2 shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, with the loop in flat conformation.

FIG. 3 shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, with the loop in flat conformation.

FIG. 4 shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, with the loop in flat conformation.

FIG. 5 shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, with the loop in flat conformation.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of another embodiment of the invention, wherethe object is a bottle.

FIG. 7 shows a side perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, where the object is the contents of a parcel.

FIG. 8 shows a front perspective view of an accoutrement to theinvention.

FIG. 9 shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, where the intent is to attach a membrane to a toe, and thereis no object for the membrane to attach to.

FIG. 10 shows a front perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, where the object is a coffee cup.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

To describe the invention in more detail, FIG. 1 shows a perspectiveview of a first embodiment of the invention, where a flexible membrane100 has a first opening 101 and a second opening 102 shaped such thatthe edge of the first opening 101 and an imaginary straight line throughsome two points along the edge of the first opening 101 bound a firstsubregion containing part of the second opening 102 and such that theedge of the second opening 102 and an imaginary straight line throughsome two points along the edge of the second opening 102 bound a secondsubregion containing part of the first opening 101 (By ‘edge’ is meantthe visible edge of the opening when viewed from a top perspective, andthe ‘lines’ referred to are not lines that physically are present in theinvention, but are instead imaginary and can be envisioned over thegeometry of the invention, or drawn on a diagram of the invention). Thefirst opening 101 and the second opening 102 in this embodiment take theform of a long ‘J’ shaped cut (which could also be described as a ‘C’shaped cut, or a narrow non-inflected curved line), with a rounded bulbor teardrop on either end. This rounded bulb on the end serves toprevent the end of the ‘J’ shaped cut from tearing when strained, whichis especially important when the ‘J’ shaped cut is very thin. Themembrane 100 further has a means of attaching to a smartphone, which inthis embodiment is achieved by a portion of the membrane taking the formof a smartphone case which fits around the sides of the smartphone andremovably interlocks with it. The strip between the first opening 101and second opening 102 thus forms an ‘S’ shaped portion of a loop 103,which in its flat conformation is completely flat and flush with theback side of the membrane 100, but can be temporarily contorted out of aflat conformation and into a loop conformation when a finger is passedfrom one side of the membrane through the first opening 101 to the otherside of the membrane and then out again through the second opening 102,or through the second opening 102 to the other side of the membrane andthen out again through the first opening 101, whereby the finger willbecome attached to the membrane 100 and thus also attached to thesmartphone. The loop 103 is able to contort without requiring thematerial of the membrane in the region surrounding the first opening 101and second opening 102 and the loop 103 to be capable of stretching,only requiring it to be flexible. The size of the openings can be madesuch that given the type and thickness of the membrane material, and theintended size of the finger to be used, the loop 103 will fit tightlyaround the finger, which causes the smartphone to not merely hang fromthe finger but become stuck to the finger, and rotate in any directionthe finger rotates, and resist slipping off the finger even if theuser's hand is dangling listlessly at their side without them paying anyattention to keeping the phone attached to their finger. Though the loop103 fits tightly around the finger, the width and flatness of theportion of the loop 103 that comes into contact with the fingerdistributes the pressure and makes the fit comfortable. Additionally theedges along the border of the first opening 101 and second opening 102may be rounded in shape to maximize the comfort for the finger, as whenthicker and stiffer materials are used for the membrane material, squareedges can form a sharp surface for a finger. The region of the membranearound the first opening 101 and second opening 102 can be made ofthermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyethylene, polypropylene, silicone,vinyl, plastic, rubber, Tyvek, Revlar, natural leather, syntheticleather, cloth, woven material, cardboard, or out of any other flexiblematerial, and the other parts of the membrane outside this region mayoptionally be made of the same materials, or may be made of hardermaterials such as polycarbonate, other hard plastics, carbon fiber, ormetal, or other hard materials known in the art of smartphone cases.This embodiment may be made by injection molding, or by first injectionmolding the membrane 100, and then cutting the first opening 101 andsecond opening 102 out, for example, using a die, and then optionallyrounding and smoothing the edges, or by using any other techniques knownin the art of manufacturing smartphone cases. The membrane 100 may havea plurality of other openings corresponding to features of a smartphoneas is standard in the art of smartphone cases, such as an opening for asmartphone camera lens 104 or an opening for a connecting cable 105. Tofurther describe this embodiment, the first opening 101 and secondopening 102 are formed by a cut in the shape of a ‘J’, each beginningwith a 20 mm tall teardrop shape 106 with a 2.5 mm radius bulbous part107, then continuing with a narrow section 108 extending directly upfrom the top of the tall teardrop shape 106 for 10 mm before curving 90degrees at a 10 mm radius, then ending with a 10 mm tall teardrop shape109 with a 2.5 mm bulbous part 110, and the second opening 102 isrotated 180 degrees with respect to the first opening 101 and spacedapart from the first opening 101 such that the loop 103 is formed with a10 mm width. These dimensions and angles can be made larger or smaller,given the desired finger size and the type and thickness of membranematerial used in the region surrounding the first opening 101 and secondopening 102 to alter the tightness of the loop's grip on the finger, andthe openings do not have to be limited to the shapes described. The ‘J’shape of the cut is understood to be the same as a ‘C’ shape, or anycurved line with a single concavity and no inflection. If the edgecorners (meaning the profile of the edge along a path starting at apoint on the front of the membrane and by the side of the edge, over theedge, across the thickness dimension of the membrane, and ending at acorresponding point on the back of the membrane and by the side of theedge) of the ‘J’ shaped cut are rounded off along the straight verticalportion of the ‘J’, this will provide a comfortable contact surface forthe finger. If the edge corners are square and abutting along the curvedportion of the ‘J’, the loop will have the ability to removably lockinto the surrounding membrane. It is ideal for the first opening 101 andsecond opening 102 to be positioned such that the center of the regionin between the first opening 101 and the second opening 102 ishorizontally centered, and vertically closer to the bottom than it is tothe top with respect to the normal vertical orientation of thesmartphone case. Another way to describe the shape of the first opening101 and second opening 102 of this embodiment is as a narrownon-inflected curved line defined as any line with any width that isable to fit within the bounds of a region defined by the union of an upto mm wide and 20 mm long rectangular region tangentially abutting(tangentially abutting meaning with end of the rectangular regionabutting a line extending radially from the center of the circle to thecurved edge of the circle and the corner of the abutting end of therectangular region farthest from the center of the circle is abuttingthe curved edge of the circle) an up to 120 degree portion of a circlewith radius of up to 20 mm and where said line begins at thenon-abutting end (the opposite end to the end that abuts the portion ofthe circle), and where the narrow non-inflected curved line is joined ateither end to the narrow part of an up to 50 mm long teardrop shape witha bulbous end portion with radius of up to 3 mm, and where the secondopening is rotated between 160 and 200 degrees with respect to the firstopening and spaced apart from the first opening such that the resultingstrip of the membrane between the first opening and the second openinghas an up to 20 mm width, and where a region of the membrane surroundingthe first opening and the second opening is up to 3 mm in thickness andmade from a material that may include one of the following:thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyethylene, polypropylene,polyurethane, vinyl, silicone, a blend of plastics, rubber, naturalleather, synthetic leather. This invention is not necessarily restrictedto this range of dimensions.

FIG. 1B shows a top perspective view of the other side of the embodimentof FIG. 1A, the inside of the smartphone case, having no smartphoneattached.

FIG. 1C shows a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1A, in a flatconformation, having a smartphone attached within the case. As the loopis in its flat conformation, it is completely flush with back side ofthe membrane 100 and so it is not visible from this side view.

FIG. 1D shows a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1A, having asmartphone attached within the case, with the loop in a loopconformation, with a finger 112 inserted through the loop 103, which isthus contorted out of its flat confirmation and is no longer flush withthe back side of the membrane 100, while the portion of the membranewith form and function of a smartphone case that removably interlockswith the smartphone does not change its shape and remains attached tothe smartphone.

FIG. 1E shows a side perspective view the embodiment of FIG. 1, having asmartphone 111 attached within the case, with the loop 103 in a loopconformation, and with a finger 112 inserted through the loop 103, whichis now contorted out of its flat conformation and is no longer flushwith the back side of the membrane 100, while portion of the membranewith form and function of a smartphone case that removably interlockswith the smartphone does not change its shape and remains attached tothe smartphone 111.

FIG. 2 shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, which is the same as the embodiment of FIG. 1, except thatthe first opening 201 and second opening 202 have a different shapewhere the narrow section 203 on each opening is wider, and there is athird opening 204 through which a credit card may be partially inserted.

FIG. 3 shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, comprising a smartphone case 303 having a back-side opening304 through which part of and inner flexible membrane layer 300containing a first opening 301 and second opening 302 (which are shapedand oriented as in the embodiment of FIG. 1) is exposed. The innerflexible membrane layer 300 may be nested within the smartphone case,and the portion corresponding to the back-side opening 304 may be raisedsuch that it is flush with the back of the smartphone case 303.Alternatively, the inner flexible membrane layer 300 may be permanentlybonded or adhered to the smartphone case 303. The smartphone case 303may be made of a hard, impact resistant material such as polycarbonate,polyurethane, or other stiff plastic, carbon fiber, fiberglass, metal,wood, or other materials and formed with impact reducing features asknown in the art of impact resistant smartphone cases.

FIG. 4 shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, which is the same as the embodiment of FIG. 1, except themeans by which the membrane 400 attaches to the smartphone is anadhesive, and the membrane 400 does not itself take the form or servethe function of a smartphone case. The adhesive is located on thebackside of the membrane, outside of the inner region containing thefirst opening 401 and second opening 402. The membrane 400 thus forms asticker which can be directly attached to the back of the smartphone403, or alternatively to the back of a case for the smartphone 403.Again, ‘smartphone’ is used replaceably for any portable object, such asa handheld electronic input device like a mp3 player, tablet, or camera,or such as a parcel or package, for example, and instead of an adhesive,the membrane could be heat sealed, welded, stitched, or bonded. In thisembodiment, compared to the embodiment of FIG. 1, the shapes definingeach of said first opening 401 and said second opening 402, have a topteardrop bulb shape 404 that is larger, having the effect of making theloop 406 fit more loosely given the same surrounding membrane materialand thickness, and also have a bottom teardrop bulb shape that islarger, making it easier for a fingernail to get under the loop 406 anda finger to slide through. Optionally, a portion of the edges of themembrane material between the first opening 401 and second opening 402can be made to have a slight upward curl, to make it easier for a fingerto slide under the loop 406.

FIG. 5 shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, with the loop in flat conformation, where this embodiment isthe same as the embodiment of FIG. 1, except that the membrane 500 takesthe form of a credit card pocket 505 in which a plurality of creditcards may be inserted and securely held, and where the front of thepocket 505 contains the first opening 501 and second opening 502 formingpart of the loop 503, and where the back of the pocket attaches to thesmartphone 504 by adhesive. The membrane 500 thus forms a credit cardpocket sticker which attaches to the smartphone 504 directly.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of another embodiment of the invention, wherethe membrane 600 comprises a label adhered to a bottle 603, said labelhaving a first opening 601 and second opening 602 as described in FIG.1, where first opening 601 and second opening 602 may be sized such thata single finger can be inserted though the loop and thus the bottle maybe held from a single finger. Alternatively, the first opening 601 andsecond opening 602 may be sized so that 4 or 5 fingers can pass through,thus forming a handle. The means of attaching to the bottle can comprisean adhesive on a portion of one side of the membrane, or a heat seal, orother methods standard to the art of applying labels to bottles. In thisembodiment, the label may be made of Revlar, Tyvek, Polypropylene,Polyethylene, fabric, or any other thin and tear resistant material, orany other material known in the art of label making. The larger thebulbous ends of the curved-shaped openings are, the more resistant themembrane will be to tearing.

FIG. 7 shows a side perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, where the membrane 700 comprises packaging that completelyengulfs an object (in other words, the membrane completely encloses theobject), for example, the membrane could comprise a piece of reinforcedcardboard that forms into a closed box, with one of the faces having afirst opening 701 and second opening 702 as described in FIG. 1, whichcan be sized and oriented so as to be able to form a loop that multiplefingers can pass through, thus creating a handle. The membrane could bemade of plastic, Tyvek, Revlar, paper, cardboard, cloth, a mix of theforegoing, or any other tear resistant materials known in the art ofpackaging.

FIG. 8 shows a front perspective view of an accouterment to theinvention: a tab 800 having an outwardly bent tip 801 and a portion withadhesive backing 802 for to a second object, for example, a wall. Thenthe invention as described above, for example in the embodiment of FIG.1, can attach to a first object as described, and then slid over thebent tip 801 and the tab 8X) may thus be inserted through the firstopening and out of the second opening, whereby the first embodiment andfirst object become attached to the second object. For example, in thisway, a smartphone may be attached to a wall, or car dashboard.

FIG. 9 shows a top perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, where a membrane 900 has a first opening 901 and a secondopening 902 as described in the embodiment of FIG. 1, although here atoe may be inserted through the loop, and the membrane takes the form ofa sandal. The membrane may be made out of foam, leather, cloth, Tyvek,plastic, rubber, silicone, a composite of several such materials, orother material known in the art of footwear. Optionally, a plurality ofother layers may be attached to the membrane, by adhesive, stitching,heat scaling, velcro, or other methods of adherence known in the art offootwear, in order to add to the sole. This embodiment differs from theprevious embodiments as the membrane doesn't need to have a means ofattaching to an object—here the purpose is to attach a toe to themembrane. Some examples of other similar uses would be to attach a fanto a hand, to attach a paddle to a hand, to attach a sign to a hand.

FIG. 10 shows a front perspective view of another embodiment of theinvention, where a coffee cup jacket 1000 has a first opening 1001 and asecond opening 1002 as described in the embodiment of FIG. 1, but wherethe object is a coffee cup and the means of attaching is the size of thejacket being such that the cup can partially, but not completely passthrough it (in other words, the membrane encloses the coffee cup, atleast in part). This makes a handle with which it possible to hold acoffee cup with a plurality of fingers in several different ways.

What has been described includes examples of the subject invention. Itis not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components,but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many furthercombinations and permutations of the subject invention are possible,which the subject matter of this invention is intended to encompass.

1. A flexible membrane through which there are two openings shaped suchthat the portion of said flexible membrane between said two openings hasan S-shape.
 2. The flexible membrane of claim 1, where said portion iscompletely flush with a region of said flexible membrane surroundingsaid two openings and where said portion can be contorted so that it isno longer flush with said region when a plurality of fingers is insertedinto one of the said two openings, passes beneath said portion, andpasses out of the other of the said two openings, and where said portionis able to contort without requiring the material of said flexiblemembrane in said region surrounding said two openings to be capable ofstretching, only requiring said material to be flexible.
 3. The flexiblemembrane of claim 2, where it is possible to choose two points along theedge of one of the said two openings so that a portion of said edge andan imaginary line between said two points bound part of the other of thesaid two openings.
 4. The flexible membrane of claim 1, where a portionof the edges of said two openings are rounded.
 5. The flexible membraneof claim 3, where each of the said two openings has a J-shape withrounded bulbous ends, and the minimal distance between said two openingsis between 1 mm and 30 mm.
 6. The flexible membrane of claim 3, wheresaid region has uniform thickness of up to 3 mm.
 7. The flexiblemembrane of claim 3, where said openings are cut out from said flexiblemembrane.
 8. The flexible membrane of claim 3, where said flexiblemembrane is a smartphone case and said region is the back side of saidsmartphone case.
 9. The flexible membrane of claim 8, where the centerof said portion is horizontally centered and vertically closer to thebottom than it is to the top with respect to the normal verticalorientation of said smartphone case.
 10. A smartphone case having twoopenings through its back side such that the portion of said back sidebetween said two openings has an S-shape.
 11. The smartphone case ofclaim 10, where said portion is completely flush with a region of saidback side surrounding said two openings and where said portion can becontorted so that it is no longer flush with said region when aplurality of fingers is inserted into one of the said two openings,passes beneath said portion, and passes out of the other of the said twoopenings, and where said portion is able to contort without requiringthe material of said back side in the region surrounding said twoopenings to be capable of stretching, only requiring said material to beflexible.
 12. The smartphone case of claim 10, where it is possible tochoose two points along the edge of one of the said two openings so thata portion of said edge and an imaginary line between said two pointsbound part of the other of the said two openings.
 13. The smartphonecase of claim 12, where each of the said two openings has a J-shape withrounded, bulbous ends, and a portion of the edges of said two openingsare rounded.
 14. The smartphone case of claim 10, where a portion of theedges of said two openings are rounded.
 15. The smartphone case of claim10, where said back side further has a third opening through which aplurality of credit cards may be inserted.
 16. The smartphone case ofclaim 10, where the center of said portion is horizontally centered andvertically closer to the bottom than it is to the top with respect tothe normal vertical orientation of said smartphone case.
 17. Thesmartphone case of claim 10, where every imaginary straight line that a.connects two points on said back side that are not on said portion, andb. intersects said portion also intersects at least one of the said twoopenings.
 18. The smartphone case of claim 11, where it is possible tochoose two points along the edge of one of the said two openings so thata portion of said edge and an imaginary line between said two pointsbound part of the other of the said two openings, and where a portion ofthe edges of said two openings are rounded.
 19. A flat membrane havingeverywhere the same thickness and having two holes shaped such that theportion of said flat membrane between said two holes has an S-shape thatis sufficiently curved so that every path along said portion and betweentwo points on said flat membrane not on said portion is curved and notstraight, whereby said portion is enabled to contort out from beingflush with the rest of said flat membrane when a plurality of fingers isinserted into one of the said two holes and out of the other of the saidtwo holes.
 20. The flat membrane of claim 19, where said flat membraneis the flat back side of a smartphone case, and where part of the edgesof said two holes is rounded, and where the center of said portion ishorizontally centered and vertically closer to the bottom than it is tothe top with respect to the normal vertical orientation of saidsmartphone case.